Shoe rack



Aug. 5, 1952 H, J. WILLMOTT 2,605,905

SHOE RACK Filed Nov. 28, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 -y' Zt @y ug. 5, 1,952 H, J, WILLMOTT 2,605,905

SHOE RACK Filed Nov. 28, 1947 s sheets-sheet 2 Aug. 5, 1952 H. J. WILLMOTT SHOE RACK 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 28, 194'? Patented Aug. 5, 1952 v"This invention relatestov shoe nracks *and lis "hereinfillustrated as embodied in-'a s'hoe"rackfof the pin type `suchaseis fillustratedinUnited States Letters Patent No. "11,556,425, igrantedfGctober f6,

1925 upon an application' yiiled in jthenames of "Warren E. 'Coombes 'andfChester D. Turner.

`Inthe manufacture ofshoes, racksl of the-type `referred to are commonly vused temporarily "to `store 4partially finished vshoes A'between pperations `performed upon the rshoes and Tor-transporting the Jshoes from one operating station tto another. v` Itis desirable tht shoe-racksl'beso constructed :that shoes-canbe-supported inthe yracks without likelihood -of damage by reason 'of contact with the shoe-supporting members of -=the racks or` with-*each other, particularly when the racks are "shifted from one operating station to another.

Itis further desirable that the racks be constructed in such manner that 'fthey'are economi- 'cal `of the spacefrequired'for storing and transporting the shoes and at the same time readily permit the shoes to be placed upon or removed vfrom the racks at the various voperating stations.

In View ofthe foregoing, it is an'object of the present vinvention to provide an improved rack "o'i the type referred to especially Vadapted rsecurely'to support 'shoes carried in the rack in ,readily accessible positionsforremoval at various operating sta-tions.

To this end, and, as illustrated, the invention provides a shoe rack having shoe-supporting 4members in the form of pins .each of which 1has surfaces for engaging the forepart `portions of [shoes of a Apair o'f Vshoesto he .supported in the rack bottoms up and has spaced therefrom-surlfaces for .engaging heel part portions .of the .'sh'oes. Prferaby the pins are mounted in such .manner .that the shoe-engaging surfaces extend ,above and laterally ofY members for supporting .thepins with the result that the shoes carried in Another feature of the invention vconsists in- 'the provision of an auxiliary shelf cooperable with the pins for supporting shoes in the rack with their vbottoms down. Preferably, -as shown, the .auXiliaryrshel-f comprises two bars normally positioned below the pins at opposite vsides .of the l .T52-Claims (015211-434) :2 rack, *andsdmountedthat they 'can be swung upwardly .finto positions' adjacent "to ,the'forepart "and heel part shoe-engaging surfaces 'oftheipins `to support' the shoes, vbottoms down, when that .is desired.

Theseand other features of 'the invention are disclosed in the Yfollowingspecification `Tand accompanying drawings and are pointedfout inthe claims.

In'the drawings n v l'is aperspectiveview"of aishoe'rack constructed'in accordance with hone embodiment of Vmy invention;

Fig. `2 is ayiew, :partly insectionfshowing `the second shelf of therack i in plan;

Fig. 3"-is a view inside elevation, 'partly inrsection, "of the-'upperportion of vtherack v'showing-a shoe positioned'thereineloottomidown,`and

Fig. 4 isa plan view, partly in cross'seetiony of the auxiliary shelf-locking device.

As shown in '.Fig. 1, the -rack Vcomprises 'a' rectangular base I0 vsupported on casters I'Z vand 'having upwardly .extending inverted U-sh'aped tubular en'd frames .1"4 'supporting .between'th'em 'a plurality of shelves 16. 'Each 4of -theshelves comprises two channel members I'8 preferably welded .to the end 'frames l`4at equal distancesheight- Wise of the rack, and aplurality of pin-support- .ingmember's .in the .form of 'tubular rods .'20..and .;2`2,.see'Figs."2.and 3, upon which are .carried shoesupporting, pins .24, A26, .28 and 7,19.

',Eachof .the pins lis preferably molded .or cast from suitable material .suclh fas .aluminum a1- though `if desired .they .can be fformedof plastic, wood or other materials. Thepinsldnandlare l hollow and .have V`oppositely :disposed .side .por-

tions .3U connected by tW'o "bosses32 .which are bored :tofenable the .pins tobe placed over the pin-supporting membersorrods 20and 2.2. The side portions 30 are also joined by laterally extending connecting portionsf34 whichformthe upper -andend surfaces of the pins.

Three Itypes of vpins .are employedin therack. The pins Q24 :are sufliciently .wide that .they -can support adi-acently the outside edge portions of the shoes of a pairof shoes positioned, bottoms fup, with the vside :surfaces .of the shoes .held out of contact. .The .pins 26aresufliciently wide that theycan support adiacently the. inside .edge portions ofthe shoes of a pair of shoes positioned, bottoms up, with vtheside portions of .the shoes fheld out of-contact. yThe pins 2'8 .and .Zwhich are :located at opposite ends Vof the rack are similar .in construction to the pins 24 except that each corresponds-to .onlyhalf of Lapin, .only -one shoe-supporting member being required at each end of the rack. As illustrated, theY rack is designed to support twelve pairs of shoes such as lasted shoes 35,' that is, three pairs of shoes are supported upon each shelf. Thus, as will be seen upon inspection of Figs. 1 and 2, each shelf has twelve shoe-supporting members, that is, six members for supporting the inside lportions of shoes and six members for supporting the outside portions of the shoes. The most economical arrangement for this is to provide three narrow pins alternating with two wide pins and a half of a wide pin at each end of the rack, as shown.

To facilitate the supporting of shoes, bottoms up, in the rack so that they can be readily reing two nuts 54 and 56 threaded to each other and positioned between two of the pins with the outer ends of the coupling engaging the side surface of the pins. After the pins and collars 50, as well as the coupling, have been assembled on the members 25 and 22 and the screw bolts 48 have been tightened, the coupling is expanded until" there is no play between the collars, pins and end frames. When it is desired to shift the rack to adapt it to carrying shoes of a range of sizeseither smaller or larger the collars 5D are replaced by shorter or longer collars as the case may be and the coupling 52 is adjusted to secure the assembly in fixed position.

moved therefrom, each pin 24 has shoe forepart engaging surfaces 35, Fig. 2, and shoe heel part engaging surfaces 38, disposed at opposite ends of the pin and positioned above and extending laterally upon opposite sides of the supporting members and A22. Similarly, eachof the pins 2 5 has shoe forepart and heelV part engaging surfaces 4U and 2, respectively. The pins 2S and 2S have each a single forepart and single heel part engaging surface similar to the surfaces and 38 of the pins 24. The surfaces 35 are inclined to the horizontal atan angle of about 140, surfaces 38 atabout 120, andsurfaces 45 and 42 at about 115. These angles were found to be about the average of the inclinations of planes tangent to the foreparts and heel parts of shoes of various ranges of sizes on the inside and outside portions thereof. rThe inclinations of the various shoe-engaging faces of the pins are such as to approximateV the inclinations of the planes tangent to the side faces of the shoeswhich they are to support, with the result that shoes can be supported with little likelihood of injury due to the contact of projecting portions of the engaging surfaces. The shoe-engaging surfaces of the pins are positionedrelatively to the pin-supporting members 20 and 22 so that the shoes will be carried in positions above the members with no obstruction to movement in lateral directions with the result that the shoes can readily be removed from either side of the rack. This facilitates the work of operations located upon opposite sides of the rack While performing two successive operations upon the shoes.

In order that shoes can be readily grasped by an operator, each of the pins is provided with a recess 44, Figs. 1 and 2, inthe upper face thereof, and located between the forepart and heel part shoe-engaging portions 35 and 38, and 4B and42 respectively. These recesses are so located with relation to the shoe-engaging surfaces that the instep portions of shoes supported bottoms up between adjacent pins are exposed with the result that the main body portions of the shoes are in position to be readily grasped manually.

Means are provided for spacing the pins longitudinally along the supporting members '25 and 22 so that the shoe-engaging surfaces of the pins will be properly positioned to support the shoes of a series of shoes of a particular range of sizes.

`Accordingly, the pin-supporting members and 22 are provided with plugs 45,'Fig. 2, secured in the'ends of the members, the plugs, and, consequently, the members may bey secured to the channels I8 by bolts 48 screwed into the plugs. The pins are spaced apart by collars 5i! respectively positioned on the member 22 between each pair of adjacent pins, the whole assembly of collarsk and pins being secured against endwise movement by an expansion coupling 52 compris- In order to carry shoes in the rack bottoms down as is sometimes desirable in certain shoemaking operations such as in the assembling or finishing operations or elsewhere, there is provided also an auxiliary shelf for each of the fixed shelves l5. Each auxiliary shelf comprises a forepart supporting member 5S, Fig. 3, and a heel part supporting member Si) which are movable from inoperative positions` below the pins to.op erative positions relatively Vto the pins. vThe supporting member 58 comprises a longitudinally extending flat bar having inwardly bent end portions -52 loosely pivoted on the pin-supporting member 22 near opposite channels I8. It is to be noted that the curvature of all the pins at the ends of their forepart supporting portions is such asto permitangular movement of the member 58 about its support toward and away from a position above the pins. In its inoperative position the member 58 hangsdown below the pins out of the way.

The auxiliary shelf member SB comprises a bar 53 having two inclined flanges 64 and 66 for eng-aging the back or the bottom Vcf heel parts of shoes. The bar 53 is supported by two brackets 58, Figs. 2, 3 and 4, which are pivoted on collars 'i5 secured by bolts 'l2 and nuts i4 to oppositely disposed channels i6. In its inoperative position the member 58 hangs in the position shown in dash linesv in Fig. 3. In its operative position the member Si! is at the same level as the heel part supporting portions of the pins and is held int-his position by a latch device. To this end the member 6i? has an inwardly extending hollow boss l5, Fig. Ll, enclosing a stud 'i3 which has at one end a knurled snob and at the other end a pin 82 adapted'to enter holes B or 85 in the channel it. The bolt l2 carries a leaf springV 35 held in positionv by a screw 88. rlhe outer end of the spring enters a slot in the pin 'I8 and tends normally to force the stud and its pin 82 toward the channel i8. This construction insures that the member' 65 is held in fixed position either in inoperative position below the pin shelf, as shown in dash lines in Fig. 3, with the pins 'i3 in holes 84, or fixed in operative relation to the pins as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, lwith the pins 'i8 in the holes 85. When the members 58 and 6i) are located in operative positions, as shown in Fig. 3, shoes can be supported in the rack, bottoms down, by placing them upon the members 58 and 55 with the forepart-s of the shoes resting upon the upper portions of the member 58, and the heel parts resting either upon the flange 54 or upon theflan'ge 55, the shoes being held against substantial sidewise movement by engagement with the heel part supporting portions of the pins on each side of the shoe.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the vUnited States is: y

1. A shoe rack comprising a'frame, a pinsupporting member extending longitudinally of the frame, a plurality of pins upon the pinsupporting member, each of the pins having spaced shoe forepart and heel part engaging surfaces for supportingl shoes carried in a rack bottoms up, and a plurality of bars mounted for movement from inoperative positions beneath the engaging surfacesfinto positions above the forepart engaging surfaces and adjacent to the heel part engaging surfaces respectively for supporting shoes carried in the rack bottoms down.

2. A shoe rack comprising a frame, a pinsupporting member extending longitudinally of the frame, a plurality of pins upon the pinsupporting member, each of the pins having spaced shoe fore-part and heel part engaging.

surfaces for supporting shoes carried in a rack bottoms up, a plurality of bars mounted formovement from inoperative positions beneath the engaging surfaces into positions aboveV the forepart engaging surfacesy and'adjacent to vthe heel part engaging surfaces respectively for supporting shoes carried in the rack bottoms down, and a latch carried by one of the bars and cooperrable with the vframe to secure the bar either HERBERT J. WILLMOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date v 1,006,127 Prime Oct. 17,1911 1,058,195 Perkins Apr. 8, 1913 1,137,389 Evans Apr. 27, 1915 1,169,202 Smith Jan. 25, 1916 1,404,270 Carr Jan. 24, 1922 1,556,425 Coombes et al. Oct. 6, 1926 1,646,137 Campbell Oct. 18, 1927 1,687,397 Shively Oct. 9, 1928 1,924,158 Jones Aug. 29, 1933 2,221,298 Di Domenico "Nov, 12, 1940 2,228,453 Glidden Jan. 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTSV N umber Country Date 605,290 Great Britain July 20, 1948 

